Tag: teachers

As the school year winds down, I am refreshing my Teacher Gift list for 2018. This list is perfect to turn to if you need a gift for a teachers or for graduates of teaching school. Are you ready to nix the normal mug, stationary, key chain list? Well get ready and look into the world of gift boxes… subscription gift boxes that is.

These boxes are so easy! You can simply send them to your house and hand it to the teacher or surprise the gift by sending it to the address of the school (or their own home if they are willing to give up their privacy!)

Remember when you were young and loved getting mail? When this comes in mail/ your teacher opens it, they will go NUTS! This box is my absolute favorite gift to give to teachers! A box is $49.99 but with my code you will receive $10 off making it $39.99! The Fab Fit Fun box has so many awesome goodies that are perfect right in time for the summer. Everything is included from makeup to jewelry and I couldn’t wait to get my box in the mail. Check out what I received in my box:

This is always the week students ask me for recommendations for the summer and for next year! They think they can butter me up during teacher appreciation week and then come to me for a recommendation… and they are RIGHT! I always give in!!

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I have been waiting all year to try out the Mannequin Challenge in my classroom! Finally I had the opportunity this week to get my students to “freeze in time” for this awesome task.

The Mannequin Challenge was a trend that spread across the internet asking people to freeze in a particular moment in time usually while a camera captures the moment. I chose to participate without the camera. Here’s how you can too.

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I LOVE the Wingdings font! It is such fun and you probably already own it! It comes free with Microsoft Office, so give it a try! Select Wingdings in the font box when you are in Word or PowerPoint and starting typing to see all the cool possibilities.

Check out the video below from the PowerPoint gurus over at Nuts and Bolts Speed Training to see how easy it is to create icons for all your presentations and handouts!

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I decided I needed to do a little shoe shopping over the Christmas break because my feet were KILLING me in December from all that standing and walking around while teaching. My feet feel much better in this New Year. Don’t suffer with sore feet anymore in the classroom!

I always like to wear a cute pair of shoes on the first day of school. But by the end of the month I am all about comfort! This is where my ballerina flats come into play.

Coming in 5th place cheetah ballerina flats. You can find them in any shape or style and I they go with EVERYTHING not to mention are very comfortable. I like to give a little flair to my accessories so I love these Cheetah print flats. Very easy to slip on and off and provide support to my achy feet! There are two different price variations I have provided based on your budget! Cheap as in $12 cheap… vs. More Expensive.

Fellas I didn’t forget about you. Classic Cognac Shoes. Perfect coupled with that gingham button down, a sweater and jeans. Light on your feet and comfortable. My husband walked by as I was writing this post and asked me to send him a link to buy these shoes. Trust me!

3. Elevate your teaching with a Pump

Sometimes aka parent teacher conferences, us teachers have to step up our game. This is when I switch over to a comfortable dress pump. Anne Klein is my go-to for all my “pump” related shoe needs. I have worn these to teach in, as a wedding attendee and for the holidays. I like a basic black or a nude or black and white checkered pump.

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I have been shopping NON stop for family & friends this holiday season, and my family members have started asking me what I want for the holidays? Well, they obviously did not read my post on Gifts for GRAND teachers! 😉 So… I’ve decided to edit my list and add a few goodies that I am craving for my December break! Here’s my gift list:

BOOKS

I love spending my December break curled up with a good book. This season I’ve got a few book ideas on my list:

One day, third-grade teacher Kyle Schwartz asked her students to fill–in–the–blank in this sentence: “I wish my teacher
knew _____.” The results astounded her. Some answers were humorous, others were heartbreaking–all were profoundly moving and enlightening. The results opened her eyes to the need for educators to understand the unique realities their students face in order to create an open, safe and supportive place in the classroom.

“Author Deborah Schoeberlein pioneers the practical application of mindfulness in education.The book follows a teacher from morning to night on a typical school day, at home, during the commute, and before, during, and after class. This book is perfect for teachers of all kinds: schoolteachers, religious educators, coaches, parents-anyone who teaches anything.”

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Ever since the movie Avatar came out I have loved weaving speaking characters into my classroom. Not only is it fun to watch for students (and parents) of all ages, but students get a kick out of seeing the characters on the screen. You can create your character and add a voice to it so it can speak. You can change the backgrounds as well. Here are four ways I use avatars in my classroom:

Have students make historical avatars. They can type text to each other on the computer that would be appropriate for the historical period.

Make an avatar of yourself (the teacher). Leave it up on the classroom smartboard. Hit a button that has pre-programmed sayings for when you see students are off task during groupwork.

Use avatars during parent teacher conferences. Have it up on the smart board or in the waiting room for parents once they arrive.

Use avatars during college conferences. I have created an avatar to emulate a student so I could walk through the college admissions process for a parents evening.

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Many moons ago (2009 to be exact), before Hamilton was a big hit on Broadway, Lin Manuel Miranda presented a rap song to President Obama at the White House Poetry Jam. It was funny, fresh and historically accurate – in other words PERFECT for my US history class to view.

The first year I showed the clip, my students were enamored. I had them rap it as a class the second time around. WHO IS THIS GUY?! asked the students (referring to both Hamilton AND LIN!)

They were hooked, students wanted MORE Hamilton… (Little did they know they were in for a round of Oklahomashortly thereafter).

As the years went on I joshed to my students, “Oh, they are supposed to make this into a Broadway show some day, maybe you will get tickets to see it once you graduate”. Little did WE know that this was going to be the biggest musical hit of our generation! I have had so many students have email me over the past year asking “WERE YOU IN THE ROOM WHERE IT HAPPENS?!” aka, “DID YOU GET HAMILTON TICKETS YET?!” The answer, yes…. I was one of the lucky ones. I was not giving away My Shot. In fact, I tried every day when it played at the Public Theatre to no avail. But once it was released on Broadway I bought tickets for the first week (6 months out of course).

Opening week, there I was, mouthing every word to the opening song “Hamilton”.

I was obsessed. I knew I had to bring more of the play into my classroom. Previously, when I taught the topic of the early Colonial Period and the American Revolution, I did a painting analysis ofJohn Trumbell’s Revolutionary War paintings. BUT… when the play came out I created more curriculum to bring in lyrics from the play.

Here’s how I did it by Topic:All the lyrics are online for you to view here: http://atlanticrecords.com/HamiltonMusic/
My recommendation is to print out lyrics for students to underline, then analyze as you listen to the music.

The Early Colonial Period

Topic: ImmigrationSong: Hamilton
Obviously, the first song “Hamilton” is the hook. Have students review the lyrics.Questions to consider:
Infer – what was the immigrant experience like in the 1700s?
Can you draw any parallels to today? Can any of you relate to Hamilton? Why?
Notable Lyric Sample:Alexander HamiltonWe are waiting in the wings for youYou could never back downYou never learned to take your time!Oh, Alexander Hamilton

When America sings for youWill they know what you overcame?Will they know you rewrote the game?The world will never be the same, oh

The ship is in the harbor nowSee if you can spot himAnother immigrantComin’ up from the bottomHis enemies destroyed his repAmerica forgot him

Topic: American Revolution
Subject Matter: Loyalists vs Tories, Olive Branch PetitionSong: Farmer RefutedQuestions to consider:
How can we differentiate between the Loyalists/Tories and Fence sitters during the American Revolution?
Which side would you be on and why?